One Look: A grumpy, single dad small town romance(5)

Reaching into the pocket of my skirt, I pulled out my phone. The music was queued up, and I glanced at it again.

God, I hope Bug wasn’t playing a joke on me.

Shaking my head, I pushed play and closed my eyes. The thumping chords of “Another One Bites the Dust” began flowing from the tiny speaker. An odd choice, but I pressed my lips together to keep the bubble of giggles that threatened to rise from bursting.

My finger pressed the volume louder as my left hand tapped my thigh to the beat. You couldn’t deny that the song was a banger, and I smiled, hoping Bowlegs also had a sense of humor.

As I began to hum and mumble the words I knew, I sent my thoughts of love to Bowlegs.

“You gotta be fucking kidding me.”

The sharp, deep rumble from behind startled me, and I flailed my arms as my heart leaped into my throat. In an instant, my heel was slipping, and the ground was no longer beneath me. With a crack, my feet hit something solid, one high heel snapping underneath me. My nails raked down freshly shoveled earth as realization dawned on me.

“Oh god. Oh no! Oh my god!”

“What the fuck?” The voice was above me now, sharp and angry.

Panic skittered under my skin as I took in my darkened surroundings.

In the hole. I am in the fucking hole.

“Help! Please help me!” Glancing around, I realized I was standing in the tight space beside the casket. My phone was in the dirt, Queen still wailing from the speaker, so I scooped it up and frantically pressed at the screen until Freddie Mercury shut the hell up.

I slipped the phone into my pocket and gently placed my hand on top of the casket. “I am so sorry. Shit! I’m sorry!”

I looked up again to see nothing but crisp blue sky painted with streaks of pink from the afternoon sun. “Help! Anyone? Hello? Help me!”

There was no getting out, and it didn’t seem like there was anyone up top willing to help me, so I placed my hand on top of Bowlegs’s casket and apologized again before stepping on top. My knees stung from tiny scrapes, and my skirt was filthy from the fall. Using the leverage from standing on the casket, I wrestled myself to the surface.

As I was flat on my belly and wiggling myself out of the burial site, my eyes focused on a pair of shiny black leather shoes. I craned my neck up to see the scowl deepen and the gorgeous man from yesterday huff a breath as he crossed his arms.

“A little help here?” I grunted as I continued to pull myself out of the hole.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” He offered zero assistance.

What a prick.

Finally, out of breath and streaked with mud, I sat back on my heels and smoothed my skirt over my knees. “Not getting any help from you, clearly.”

“Who are you? What are you doing here?”

My face twisted at his demanding tone, despite the fact its rough timbre had the tiny hairs on my neck standing on end.

“Paying my respects. Though”—I glanced backward and down at the hole, where two muddy shoe prints were now stamped on the top—“typically it goes a little more smoothly than this.”

I laughed at the pure ridiculousness of the situation I had gotten myself in. No doubt Aubergine and Eagle would laugh their asses off when they heard about it.

My laughter subsided, and I smiled up at him. I swear his top lip curled as he said, “Do you have any idea how blatantly disrespectful, inappropriate, downright—”

I lifted my hand in the air as I maneuvered to stand. “I’m gonna stop you right there.”

I’d had just about enough of his brash, arrogant tone. I swooped my hands in front of me. “Nothing about this was disrespectful. Well, except for the falling-in part, but that wasn’t my fault. It was yours.”

His rich, caramel eyes flared with anger. “My fault?”

I nodded once. “You startled me. I was having a moment with Terrance when—”

“Terrance? A moment?” The gorgeous man pinched his nose between his fingers, and I smothered a smile. “‘Another One Bites the Dust’? That’s your idea of respect?”

His hostile tone only fanned the flames of my fight-or-flight response. Oh, game on, buddy.

I smoothed my skirt once more and calmed my face, completely ignoring the fact that I was streaked with mud, one heel was broken, and my hair was rapidly coming out of its delicate chignon. “That song was his favorite. I felt compelled to play it one last time, in a moment of privacy between him and me.” I pointed a finger at him. “You interrupted. You made me fall in, and you couldn’t be bothered to help me out!”

“Who are you?”

He didn’t even bother to pretend to be affected but let his eyes lazily lower down my body before quickly flicking back up to meet my gaze.

A haughty laugh shot out. “A friend of the family.”

The man was stone. Unwavering in his assessment of me. Irritated, I rolled my eyes and stormed past him, hobbling as my uneven footwear stole any sliver of grace I still had. I turned to him. “You know what? Judge me all you want, but the only thing sadder than a funeral is a funeral no one shows up to.”

At that, despite the fact I cursed myself for letting far too much slip, I stormed off toward my car, but not before I had the satisfaction of seeing realization spread across the sharp angles of his handsome face.